Content

Fri, Mar 6, 2020

Rumors of a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela grow

Blogs and YouTube videos spread the rumor that Juan Guaidó gave the United States permission to intervene militarily in Venezuela

Government

Thu, Mar 5, 2020

Tracking narratives around James Le Mesurier and the White Helmets

How conspiracies resurfaced and shifted after Le Mesurier’s death

Security Social Media

Thu, Mar 5, 2020

Conspiracy theorist gets thousands of YouTube views spreading coronavirus rumors

UFO-obsessed Youtuber continued to publish misleading videos that targeted Latin America even after conspiracies were debunked

Security Social Media

Sun, Feb 16, 2020

The South African information space: a legacy of disinformation from apartheid to 2020

Apartheid-era propaganda fomented media distrust, and more than 25 years into democracy, South Africa still struggles with the legacy

Social Media

Sun, Feb 16, 2020

Citizen sleuths in India unmask perpetrators behind JNU attack

In face of police inaction, Indian users used open-source techniques to uncover the assailants responsible for university attack

Government Social Media

Wed, Feb 12, 2020

Iran, Russia, and the Taliban exploited informational void in U.S. military plane crash

After a U.S. Bombardier E-11A aircraft crashed in Afghanistan, Iranian, Russian, and pro-Taliban entities amplified unverified information

Security

Wed, Feb 5, 2020

Misleading media coverage of Warren’s voting-related disinformation plan

A tweeted headline omitted an essential qualifier, setting off a chain of misinformation

Elections Government

Tue, Feb 4, 2020

Фейсбук заблокировал ряд страниц в Украине: страницы распространяли анти-украинский контент

DFRLab found a user named “Alexander Viktorovich” and other online individuals who distributed anti-Ukrainian narratives on external websites

Wed, Jan 29, 2020

A reason for skepticism with China’s coronavirus comms

Coronavirus brings into focus the Chinese Communist Party’s history of obfuscating the facts during public health crises

Government

Wed, Jan 29, 2020

Iran’s confession over downing a passenger jet conjures Kremlin’s uncomfortable past

Iran confessed to PS752, while Russia never did for MH17; now, Russian propagandists are doubling down on the denials

Government

Tue, Jan 28, 2020

Misleading claim against Venezuela’s Guaidó spread abroad

Russian, Iranian, and Cuban outlets, among others, picked up anti-Guaidó rumor from pro-Maduro sites and targeted Spanish-speaking countries

Government

Fri, Jan 24, 2020

Top takes: A Facebook drama in three acts

An exclusive report, in collaboration with Der Spiegel, reveals a network of fake accounts building fake lifetimes in fake ways

Social Media